1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a farm machine, particularly for haymaking, comprising a frame supporting at least one rotor driven in rotation during work around an approximately vertical axis, said driving being performed from the power takeoff shaft of a tractor.
2. Discussion of the Background Art:
Machines of this type, which are equipped with a rotor for windrowing plants lying on the ground, should be able to be coupled both to the front and back of tractors. When the windrower is in front, it is possible to couple a second machine, for example a bailer or a silo filler, to the back so as to perform two operations simultaneously. Another advantage of mounting the windrower in front is that the tractor wheels do not run over the strewn hay.
However, a great obstacle to the general use of couplings to the front of tractors comes from the fact that the speeds and directions of rotation of the front power takeoff shafts differ according to the tractor models. On some models, said shafts rotate at 1000 rpm while on other models they rotate at 540 rpm. In addition, on some tractors the front power takeoff shafts rotate to the right, while on others they rotate to the left.
Users who want to put their machines at the front of tractors are obliged, in most cases, to use reducing or reversing housings or, at times, both. These housings must then be placed between the power takeoff shaft and the rotor of the machine. These housings constitute relatively expensive independent devices. Further, it is necessary to remove them from the machines when they are not used for driving, which forces the user to provide space to store them.
Finally, such reducing housings must also be used to drive machines coupled to the rear of tractors having only a rear power takeoff rotating at 1000 rpm.